Pottsville, Anyone?

Let Us Know....
Jenny and I plan to attend Thursday night in Pottsville at the theatre event at 1440 Mohantongo Street, which has a champagne reception afterward. If anyone wants to have a short dinner with us beforehand, let us know. Robert Saliba. Morristown, NJ

Parker-O'Hara Hollywood











Dorothy Parker's West Hollywood Walking Tour will take place on Saturday, September 27, 2008 starting at 10 a.m. at Washington Mutual Bank, 8158 Sunset Boulevard. The tour will be hosted by the Los Angeles Chapter of the Dorothy Parker Society.


Participants in this rare opportunity will have the opportunity to visit writer Dorothy Parker's residences and favorite spots in and around West Hollywood during her Hollywood years. Learn more about Ms. Parker's activities in Los Angeles in the 1930's through the 1960's and hear stories about her contemporaries and friends such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, John O'Hara, S.J. Perelman and Charles Brackett. Admission is free.


For reservations and for more information, please call (323) 848-6883 or (626) 376-7605 or email info@adriennecrew.com For the deaf and hard of hearing, please call (323) 848-6496.


From Richard: I spoke to Adrienne today. Our members are invited to attend. Moreover, she's passing on the word about our group about membership opportunities; it being symbiotic with her Parker Society.



We're Back At the Warwick!







AGM at Warwick's Tavern 17
Same place. Same time. One year later.

AGM -- Friday, 30 January 2009 and Saturday, 31 January 2009

One thing about the Warwick -- they want us.

We're back for 2009 AGM (Annual General Meeting) at 7 PM 30 January, 2009 at the Warwick Hotel, 1701 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

We're dining from the menu. Individual bills are OK. Check out the menu via www.radisson.com/philadelphiapa.

I've spoken to the Front Office Manager (Alex Marin) re overnight rates -- discounted rates. It depends how many are in the group. Let me know your preferences! Of course, there are many other places to stay. If you need help, contact me. But check out on-line venues first. Please.

Please advise your attendance. How many?

O'Hara readings will be held AM 31 January in lecture room at 1919 Chestnut Street (2 streets from Warwick). Each paper should be no longer than 1 hour (including Q & A). Let's try for three. Let me know.

Richard

AGM Update

Warwick Hotel Redux?
It seems that we're back to the Warwick Hotel restaurant for AGM dinner.

I've checked other venues -- room fees, mixed spaces -- talk about conflicted spaces. I'm told that this was an issue last year. I will make an effort with the Warwick people to minimise this and noises-off.

If you have any ideas, let me know. Otherwise, I'll be booking the Warwick for Friday, 30 January. Talks will be delivered 31 January at 1919 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, in space I've booked.

If you have a paper to deliver, please advise. We have two so far. I'm thinking that we should keep lectures to morning only. (Bring yr own Starbucks). Thoughts? Yr shout.

Details will folo.

Richard

AGM Alert

AGM Venue Needs to Change

The Pen & Pencil Club can't accomodate us for 30 January AGM. They require a catered menu, a guaranteed number of dinners, and the rest is even less interesting. So, we need to move on to another Centre City locale. I'll try to report back this week. The dates, 30-31 January, remain the same.

-- Richard



O'Hara Sign Goes Missing

Found on eBay; Recovered;

No Charges Filed








Published: Thursday, September 4, 2008 4:23 AM EDT
By Stephen J. Pytak
Staff Writer/Republican Herald
One of the street signs leading visitors through Pottsville's John O'Hara Walking Tour was up for sale on Internet auction site eBay last week.

On Aug. 25, Pottsville police contacted the seller, "box_music" based in Tamaqua, and retrieved the sign for "Pill Row," which will be returned to the 200 block of Mahantongo Street, according to Mark T. Major, executive director of the Schuylkill County Visitors Bureau, and Police Chief Joseph H. Murton V.

The seller won't be charged.

"We couldn't prove that it was stolen," Murton said Wednesday.

The signs, erected between 1999 and 2000, were part of an Eagle Scout project devised by Daniel S. Kheloussi, then 13, of Pottsville.
When told about the incident, Kheloussi, 22, of Pittsburgh, who was contacted Wednesday, was surprised.

"I'm a little disheartened that someone would put this up on an auction site, but I'm glad it's resolved," he said.

Murton said he did not know the seller's real name and referred all other comments about the case to Pottsville police Lt. Steve Durkin, who was not in the office Wednesday and could not be reached for comment. An effort was made to contact "box_music" via eBay, but the seller did not return the message Wednesday.

The sign was one of 19 along The John O'Hara Walking tour in the city, according to the tour brochure compiled by the Pottsville Commission on Tourism.

The fifth stop on the tour, "Pill Row," is near the intersection of Third Street and Mahantongo, according to the brochure. "Pill Row" is mentioned in O'Hara's "Gibbsville." According to the book, it's a neighborhood where several doctors had offices on "lower Lantenengo Street."

In his novels, O'Hara used pseudonyms for real places, such as "Gibbsville" for Pottsville.

On eBay, the seller stated: "This is an old sign we bought at a yard sale. It refers to John O'Hara, a famous writer from Pottsville, Pa."

The auction included pictures of the sign, which is 24 inches long and 6 inches high. The starting bid was $29.99. The item had no bids when the seller took the auction down Aug. 25.

Local officials became aware of the auction on Aug. 25. The first was Major, who received an e-mail about it from a concerned resident.

"I sent it over to the city to let them know about it and I also got on eBay and contacted the seller to let them know the sign that they had for sale was stolen from the City of Pottsville and I asked them if they would consider returning it to the city," Major said Wednesday.

"They were very cooperative in returning it," Murton said, referring to the seller.

The sign was in the office of City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar on Wednesday. Palamar said the bracket which attached the sign to the post on the 200 block on Mahantongo Street was cracked. The signs were made by Roberts Sign Co., Pottsville, and cost about $500, according to Kheloussi.

SCCA's Champagne Pool

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE Schuylkill County Council for the Arts RE: O'Hara event in October!

The SCCA had originally announced the "From the Terrace" dinner theatre taking place at the Schuylkill Country Club this October. Due to reasons beyond our control, we have changed the event:
"The Champagne Pool"
Tuesday, October 7th, Wednesday October 8th, and Thursday October 9th.
Each night, "The Champagne Pool" begins at 7:30pm at the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts located at 1440 Mahantongo Street in Pottsville (17901).
$10 includes the play and champagne reception. This is a reservations only-limited seating event so please call TODAY!!
570.622.2788 x24.
Those who had already called a reservation for "From The terrace" already have a reservation for this new event. Please call 570.622.2788x24 to let us know which date you would like now that Friday night is not an option.

Thank you and Namaste!

Benjamin Chapin's great grand niece,
Missi Allen
Arts Director, AIE Coordinator, Gallery Curator
Schuylkill County Council for the Arts
1440 Mahantongo Street in Pottsville, PA. 17901
570.622.2788x24
Fax: 570.622.6439

...for more on that story contact me anytime!